On April 24, the Texas Education Agency released their 2022-23 public school and campus accountability ratings. Ranging from A-F, the scores represent a comprehensive analysis of campus and district performance across several benchmarks and serve to foster greater transparency for parents and the public. Ongoing legal proceedings have caused a delay in the release of the prior year’s ratings.
“Every Texas family deserves a clear view of school performance, and now those families finally have access to data,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, in a TEA press release issued on April 24. “Transparency drives progress, and when that transparency is blocked, students pay the price.”
The press release further stated that the release of the 2023 ratings, “give families a much-needed and long-overdue opportunity to understand how their schools are serving students,” and provide districts with “valuable insights to strengthen instruction, close achievement gaps and support continuous improvement.”
Liberty Hill Independent School District received an overall accountability score of 84/100, earning it a B rating. Overall performance scores are divided into three key areas that each receive a unique score – Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gap. These areas analyze student learning per grade, preparation for the next grade, and how effectively the district is preparing students for success after high school.
The 2022-2023 results reflect LHISD’s 10 campuses and 7,854 students at the time.
LHISD received an 86/100 (B) in Student Achievement, measuring student performance on STAAR exams, graduation rates, and student preparation for success after high school.
Based on 2022-23 STAAR results, 86 percent of Liberty Hill students were approaching grade level or above across all subjects, 62 percent met grade level or above, and 26 percent mastered grade level subjects. These scores outrank the relative 76 percent approaching, 49 percent meeting, and 20 percent mastering state averages across all subjects.
That year, 72 percent of LHISD students met total credit for College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) criteria, compared to a 69 percent state average. This statistic looks at a variety of measures indicating student readiness for life after high school.
Liberty Hill students scored above state averages across six CCMR criteria, including scoring at or above the college ready standard on standardized testing (SAT/ACT/TSIA), earning credit for college prep courses, meeting criterion score on AP/IB exams, earning college credit for dual credit courses, earning industry-based certification, or completing OnRamps courses and qualifying for college credit.
Within the criteria, LHISD students scored below state averages in earning level I or II certificates and associates degrees, graduating with completed individualized education program (IEP) and workforce readiness, and graduating under an advanced diploma plan.
Overall, the TEA report revealed LHISD graduation rates far outrank state averages. Liberty Hill had a four-year graduation rate of 96.5 percent, compared to 89.7 percent for the state, a five-year graduation rate of 94.7 percent, compared to 92.2 percent for state, a six-year graduation rate of 98.6 percent, compared to 92.7 percent for the state, and a dropout rate of 0.1 percent, compared to 2.2 percent for the state.
All of these factors contributed to ISD’s Student Achievement ranking.
Liberty Hill received an 82/100 (B) in School Progress, which measures student performance over time (Academic Growth) and district performance compared to similar peer districts (Relative Performance).
LHISD received an 82/100 (B) score in Academic Growth, measuring student progress compared to the prior year. This is divided into an Annual Growth Score, measuring the percentage of students that made at least one year of academic progress, and Accelerated Learning Score, showing the percentage of previously academically delayed students that made at least one year of academic progress. Liberty Hill demonstrated a 70 percent Annual Growth Score and a 50 percent Accelerated Growth Score.
Liberty Hill received a Relative Performance score of 68/100 (D), marking its lowest ranking TEA result. This factor studies the ISD’s performance compared to districts with similar economically disadvantaged populations. In 2023, Liberty Hill had 21.9 percent economically disadvantaged students. In Texas, 32 percent of students attend a school receiving a D rating in this category.
The final Accountability Rating section, Closing the Gap, analyzes performance gaps between different groups of students in a district. Liberty Hill received a score of 84/100 (B) based on performance reports across all subjects for different ethnicities. Across Texas, 43 percent of students attend a school with a B rating, while 42 percent attend a school with a C rating and 15 percent attend a school with an A rating.
All LHISD schools, like the district, received an overall score of B, except for Bill Burden Elementary, which received an A.
“Designed to drive continuous improvement, the A-F system helps ensure that all students, regardless of background, have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success after graduation. A-F ratings help educators and school systems celebrate successes and focus support where it is needed most,” read the April TEA press release.
The three-pronged “design reflects a commitment to recognizing high student achievement and the impact of highly effective educators while maintaining focus on the students most in need.”
Following the release of TEA ratings, LHISD posted an announcement on Parent Square, stating that, “Liberty Hill ISD is proud of the results and experiences our students earn as recognized by the numerous district, state and national recognitions our students receive in academics and extracurriculars. In Liberty Hill ISD, student STAAR and End-of-Course test results from the 2022-23 school year improved overall compared to the previous school year.”
Liberty Hill received a B score of 88/100 in 2021-22, which translated to a C score of 79/100 when adjusted for the change in scoring standards implemented for 2022-23.
In addition to accountability scores, TEA also grades districts on financial factors including revenue, expenses, and debt. LHISD received an A score of 94/100, based on Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) criteria.
For the 2022-23 school year, Liberty Hill reported a total of $113,786,787 in revenue and $280,084,610 in expenditures.
LHISD received total of $14,488 in revenue per student that year, marking a $1,018 increase from 2022 revenue. The average state revenue per student was $14,960.
The district reported $35,661 in expenditures for 2023, compared to $23,832 for 2022. This was notably higher than both state and peer averages, which were roughly $17,000 for 2023. LHISD expenditures have increased more than three-fold since 2018.
Liberty Hill ISD debt has also soared over the past five years, from $39,442 in 2018 to $100,083 in 2023. The 2023 state average was $24,605.
When asked about the reason for the steep increase in debt and expenditures, LHISD explained that it has to do with the growth of the district.
“The increase in debt and expenditures is directly related to the fast growth of the district. With 1,000 additional students enrolling every year and voter approved bond elections in 2018, 2021, and 2023, the district has had to build additional campuses and expand existing campuses in order to serve the growing population,” said LHISD Chief Financial Officer Rosanna Guerrero. “The district has been able to maintain the Interest & Sinking tax rate at $0.50 despite the increase in debt. This is largely due to refunding existing debt, paying debt off early, and restructuring obligations to build debt capacity.”
Overall, the TEA website describes a B performance score as “serving many students well, encouraging high academic achievement and/or appropriate academic growth for most students.”
Motal said that, at the end of the day, it’s not about comparison to other district, it’s about the progress of Liberty Hill schools and students.
“Every year our principals and campuses analyze them for individual student growth and learning opportunities and whole campus professional learning opportunities for staff. This analysis is reflected in the annual campus improvement plans that show focus areas for student growth, and staff professional learning,” said Motal.
The interim superintendent also referenced current legislation that would add more measures to district scoring.
“We’re very excited that the state may provide more opportunities to monitor campus and district performance through other ways such as workforce participation, student engagement in extracurriculars, advance opportunities provided to students and teacher development,” he said.
To learn more about accountability rating standards, visit the TEA’s “A-F Accountability” website page. Review Liberty Hill ISD’s 2022-23 TEA rating at TXschools.gov.